United News of Bangladesh

The United Nations has warned that South Sudan is at serious risk of returning to full-scale war unless urgent action is taken to end violence, abuses and long-standing impunity. The warning came in a new report released on Friday by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan at a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report said civilians are facing grave abuses, including killings, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, forced displacement and denial of basic needs, as fighting intensifies across the country. It described the humanitarian situation as worsening in one of the world’s poorest nations. The commission said rising risks of mass atrocities and the collapse of political safeguards make urgent preventive action necessary. It urged regional and international actors to apply diplomatic pressure, impose sanctions and strictly enforce the UN arms embargo until clear progress is made on human rights and accountability. According to the report, actions by political and military leaders have weakened the 2018 peace agreement. These include the detention of opposition figures, erosion of power-sharing arrangements and attempts to alter the terms of the peace deal. The report highlighted the arrest and removal of First Vice President Riek Machar last year, saying it undermined key guarantees of the peace agreement and triggered armed clashes on a scale not seen in nearly a decade. South Sudan plunged into civil war in 2013, two years after independence, following a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and Machar. The conflict killed an estimated 400,000 people before a fragile peace was reached in 2018. The UN report also noted a dangerous shift in military tactics, including air strikes on areas populated by civilians. It raised concerns over the deployment of forces from neighbouring Uganda, saying their involvement may have violated the UN arms embargo. Sexual violence remains widespread and systematic, the report said. Women and girls continue to face constant risk, with rape and other abuses used as tools to terrorise communities, force displacement and break social bonds. The commission said senior commanders and political leaders are rarely held accountable for serious crimes, allowing a culture of impunity to persist. It also noted shrinking civic space, with journalists, activists and opposition members facing harassment, surveillance and detention. The UN urged the government to stop violations by its forces, free those held without cause and guarantee basic freedoms. It also called for the immediate establishment of long-delayed transitional justice mechanisms to prosecute war crimes committed since 2013. Fighting has intensified in recent months, especially in Jonglei state, where opposition forces seized several government positions from December. In response, the army launched a major military operation in late January, ordering civilians and aid groups to leave parts of the area. The United Nations said earlier this month that about 280,000 people have been displaced since late December. More than 235,000 of them are from Jonglei alone. UNICEF has warned that over 450,000 children are at risk of acute malnutrition due to displacement and disruption of health services. Nearly 10 million people across South Sudan now need life-saving humanitarian assistance. Aid operations have been badly affected by violence and looting, while access to vulnerable communities remains restricted. The report said civilians continue to bear the heaviest cost of the conflict, as violence, displacement and abuse deepen an already severe humanitarian crisis.   With inputs from ALJAZEERA